Butterflies and Mutual Density
by Dear Rosie
Summary: "She expected a response. All he expected was food." Lucy and Natsu are going to dinner. But is it a date or not? That's for them to find out. NaLu/Natsu x Lucy. One-shot.


*Dances* I wrote a NaLu, I wrote a NaLu~! I've been wanting to write one for a long time, but I couldn't think of anything. Dx But I got this sudden burst of inspiration the other day and wrote this. I've learned to listen to bursts like that. Anyways, the author's note at the bottom is extremely important, so make sure you read that too.

Enjoy your read!  
-xxGlassRose :)

* * *

~Butterflies and Mutual Density~

Lucy did her best to summon all the courage that she had ever been able to muster: the same courage she had been able to maintain while kidnapped by Phantom Lord, when Magnolia was almost doomed courtesy of Laxus, when she was in the Tower of Heaven, the time she told her father she wasn't going to be married. But for some reason none of those things seemed nearly as frightening.

Spotting a certain salmon-haired Dragon Slayer across the room arguing with a shirtless ice mage, typical for a day like this, Lucy tried to think positive thoughts. If she could handle everything she had already dealt with since joining Fairy Tail, which was a good bit, she could handle what she was planning to do with ease! But this was different territory. Way different.

That day she had looked back on things the last time she was writing her mom, Lucy had had some sort of epiphany. An epiphany in that she realized how stupid and confusing the butterflies in her stomach were. She was sure they hated her. And they decided to fly around like moths following a lit candle whenever she got near a certain someone. Which was just great. And to add to her torment, they grew even crazier when she tried to talk to that someone, or he talked to her, or when their hands touched, or when he showed up at her house late at night and uninvited. It was official-the butterflies were evil.

The worst part of it all was that she couldn't manage to tell anyone about it. Even if she hinted at it to her someone, who was also her best friend, he'd just think she was hungry. But then again, that was all he ever thought: food. Unless there was something more important at hand. Lucy hoped she fit into that category.

She had seriously considered telling someone. Juvia, for one, could give her ideas if anything. But then Juvia might think that Lucy's "someone" was Gray. And that, Lucy knew, would be no fun at all. Levy may have been able to do something, but Lucy had no gauge on how much the script mage knew about love that wasn't from a cheesy romance novel. Then there was Erza. Lucy knew she could trust her, but… Erza was Erza. And Lucy just _couldn't_.

Swallowing all the doubt she could, Lucy sauntered over to the arguing pair.

"Hey, guys!" she called cheerfully. At first, she was about to give up; her voice barely seemed to penetrate the minds of her nakama. But soon, her worries were relived when he turned and said,

"Hey, Lucy! What's up?"

"Umm, a lot, actually." She walked over to Gray and said, "I need to borrow him for a minute." Gray, slightly confused, nodded. She then walked over to Happy and said the same, and afterwards Lucy walked off with the Salamander.

Outside the guild, the two stopped. Lucy swallowed when her friend asked why she had taken him out of the guild, and scrambled to come up with something to say. Honestly, she had never thought she would get this far.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked, messing with her fingers.

"Yeah?"

"W-would you like to-" Her mind raced to think of something. Just something! Then it hit her. "Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?"

A few seconds passed, but Lucy was sure it was a few decades.

"Dinner? Sounds like fun!" The blonde girl let out a sigh of relief, knowing she had hit home. If she was going to get anything date-like with Natsu, it was surefire if it involved food.

"Okay! So, how about seven?"

"Cool! I'll be at your place." Natsu gave her one of his boyish grins before heading back to the guild. Honestly, he wasn't sure what had just happened. But he had always liked spending time with her. And besides, it was dinner!

The blonde had no idea what had just taken place either. She had actually asked Natsu to dinner! It was a date, wasn't it? Well, they never confirmed it, and Lucy had a feeling that Natsu may not have seen it as anything more than just dinner. But all in all, Lucy was just surprised those evil butterflies didn't kill her.

"Plue, I can't pick!" An exasperated Lucy fell over onto her bed and sighed heavily. "What do you think? Red or green?" Plue picked up the green dress-then promptly dropped it to the floor. Well, Lucy did ask for an opinion, and there she had one. Looked like the red one was her best bet.

Natsu's eyes grazed the crowd with one purpose: devise the fastest way to Lucy's before seven o'clock. He had four minutes. Plenty of time.

The Dragon Slayer would not have been in such a predicament if it were not for an ice mage. One with whom he argued until around six thirty; it was then Natsu realized he was late for what Gray had bluntly described as a "date." Natsu didn't see the connection to fruit but did not seem to care at the time. Happy had told him if he failed to clad himself in something half-decent, then Lucy would hit him. And Natsu never liked it when she hit him. A plethora of things didn't hurt him. That did.

He slipped off his shoes and immediately activated his magic. Flames shot from his feet and he blasted forward as quickly as he could. Four minutes. Plenty of time.

Jaded, Natsu slipped through-the only way he was sure Lucy wouldn't see him coming-and plopped himself on the couch. He had "flown" to his friend's apartment building. He then scaled the brick wall, cracked open her window, and came inside. Simple.

Lucy scrambled to get her hair just right. There she was, her first date-or that's what she liked to call it-and she couldn't get her hair the exact way she wanted it. Oh, she had tried. Heaven knew she had tried. Ponytail, bun, French braid; having tried more styles than she could count on one hand, she gave up and decided to just let it flow loose. She fidgeted around with it once more, but her blonde locks appeared as if they had already made the choice.

Upon opening the door to her bathroom, Lucy saw a strange sight. It wasn't the Dragon Slayer propped up on her couch. No, that was normal. But then again, it _was_ the Dragon Slayer propped up on her couch.

He was wearing a regular shirt, for once. A nice, white, cotton button-down at that. He was wearing khaki pants and black loafers. A nice ensemble for an event like this, but Lucy could hardly fathom that it was _Natsu_ who stood before her. His salmon hair was left in its usual messiness. If it weren't for that factor, Lucy may have tackled the man and asked what he had done to her best friend.

Judging from the bewildered look on Lucy's face, she was not happy he was in her house after she just walked out of the bathroom. Or that's what Natsu thought, at least. He girded himself for something-a knock on the head, a kick in the shin, just something-and squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened his eyes, he saw only chocolate brown ones gazing into his.

"Natsu? What's wrong?" He blinked furiously and took notice of how close her face was to his. Lucy seemed to realized this at the same time. Pink dabbed her cheeks and she turned away. It was then Natsu fully registered what she was wearing. A red, knee-length dress highlighted her figure and matching shoes completed the look. But what Natsu liked best was her hair. Loose and flowing: he had always liked it when she wore it that way.

"Nothing! Come on, let's have a good time!" Natsu smiled genuinely, took his friend by the hand and they left the apartment, both smiling the whole way.

Lucy poked her straw around her cup, waiting for the perfect thing to say to come into her mind. Once the duo had sat down, the atmosphere had immediately hushed. And to make things more awkward, their food wasn't there yet. So it wasn't like it was quiet but they were eating. It was like they were quiet because both had nothing to say.

"So…" Lucy began, blushing and looking down. _"Here go those stupid butterflies again."_ she thought. "You… look nice."

"Um, thanks." Natsu knew Happy would be glad to know his date advice would be appreciated.

"Do you know why I asked you to come with me?"

"Something about fruit…"

"What?"

"Dates." Lucy gave Natsu a blank stare. She was confused out of her mind. "Gray said something about them before I left but I don't know-" Natsu looked up at Lucy to see her laughing. He cocked an eyebrow "What's so funny?"

"You!" she said between giggles. When she stopped, her face was red and a smile was glued to her face. "You're really dense, aren't you?"

"Am I really?" he challenged. At this time, a waiter came to their table and told them their food was almost done.

"It should be out in a few minutes," the man said.

"Thanks!" Lucy replied. "So where were we?"

"You said I wasn't smart."

"You usually aren't."

"And to think _you're_ the one who asked _me_ out to dinner." Natsu said. "There you go insulting me." Lucy blushed when he said the words "asked _me_ out." When he put it that way, it really did sound like a date.

"I did."

After that silence fell over the table again. She expected a response. All he expected was food.

When the food came, he still hadn't said anything except an enthusiastic "Let's eat!" and seemed to have forgotten their little exchange before. Lucy sighed. No matter how romantic things got, Natsu was still Natsu. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Lucy was trying to finish her dish while Natsu had been done for ten minutes. He was just leaning back in his chair as he watched his friend eat. He had been thinking-thinking about something else he was told before he headed for Lucy's house. And he wondered if it was true. The only thing to do would be ask.

"Lucy?"

"Mmm?" She looked up, food still in her mouth. After chewing and swallowing, she asked, "What is it?"

"Two people go on a date when they like each other, right?" She nodded, trying to see where he was going with that. "Does that mean… you like me? Like, more than friends?"

Lucy's face turned redder than her dress.

"W-where'd you get that idea?"

"Just thinking." As if he was going to tell her the entirety of what Gray had said before he called the dinner a "date."

"W-well, I'm not owning up to anything, so don't get any ideas," Lucy scoffed as she turned away, her face still practically on fire and the evil butterflies going insane. Natsu smirked, placing his elbows on the table.

"You sure?"

"Yep." Lucy had stopped eating now and the two were staring into each other's eyes; it was a battle of wits, a war of mutual density, pitted to see which one knew the least of what was going on.

"Well, maybe," Natsu began, placing a warm hand on her cheek, earning a flush from her. "You'd tell me if I did this." He leaned in close to her face and Lucy's mind screamed "Alert! Alert!" But her body did nothing at all. She got ready for the inevitable; he came even closer and then-stopped. "Please?" he asked innocently, giving her a smile that could melt snow.

The butterflies had multiplied tenfold now. This was slightly like how she had imagined it would be when Natsu confessed the feelings she once was positive he had somewhere for her.

"Um…" Lucy's mind raced. There was his face mere inches in front of hers. She had this unbearable urge… No! She couldn't. It would be wrong. It would mess up their friendship! But, then again…

Lucy moved a little closer and prepared herself, wondering what in the world she was thinking. Maybe she wasn't thinking. Why would she want to? For some reason, she did; and so, she pushed her lips up against his. It was short, and it was sweet, but it was just… _nice_. And suddenly, those butterflies didn't seem so evil any more.

"Tsk, tsk, Lucy," Natsu teased, smirking. "And you thought I was the dense one." The blonde blushed and gave him a strange look.

"What?"

"You're not supposed to kiss on the first date."

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**Very important! Please read!**

Okay, so I have this idea. And the idea is for a story. But the thing is, if I wrote this, I'd be doing another multi-chapter fic, and that would break my policy of only doing 2 at a time. I have a sporadic updates for Dawn's Diary and It Must Be the Sunshine anyway! So I'm on the fence! What should I do?

The story would be called _13th Street _and the little, um, catchphrase thingy, I guess, would be "Who said 13 wasn't a lucky number?" It would be GrayZa and NaLu (about 60% and 40%) and be an AU fic that takes place in the real world (because I've always dreamed of writing one). The story would need a lot more developing before I post it, though. For example, how old they are (high school, college, adults), what their jobs are (because they will have those), how everyone's gonna hook up, and stuff like that. But I've given it some thought and it's sounds like something fun to do. Here's a preview of a NatsuxLucy scene:

_13th__ Street_

_Who said 13 wasn't a lucky number?_

_*x*x*x*x*_

_The sound of the doorbell rebounded through Lucy's apartment. She poked her head out of the bathroom and poked it back in to finish her hair for the morning._

_"Coming, Erza!" Lucy called as she fixed her blonde locks. Upon opening the door, she gasped. "Natsu? What are you doing here?" The only person she would expect a visit from in the morning was her next door neighbor. This was certainly a surprise; whether it was pleasant or not, Lucy wasn't sure._

_"Came by before work," he mumbled, taking a good look at her place. "Got any breakfast?" Lucy rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen. Natsu, closing the door behind him, walked over to where she was pouring cereal and peeped over her shoulder._

_"You know, you could just get breakfast on the way to work," chided the girl as she handed him the bowl. "There are plenty of restaurants on 13th Street."_

_"Yeah, but none of them are as fun to come to."_

_She couldn't help but crack a smile._

So what do you guys think? Please tell me, I have no clue what I should do and advice, ideas, and suggestions would be very much apreciated. ^^

EDIT: 13th Street has been published! .net/s/6719840/1/


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